He was a Georgetown-educated doctor with a passion for rural healthcare. Dr. Ayaz Virji is Chief of Staff for Johnson Memorial Health Services and Medical Director at Primary Care Clinic in Dawson, Minnesota. Dr. Virji delivers a Wolf Talk at Northern State University in Aberdeen on November 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Blue Room at the Johnson Fine Arts Center. We talk about the 2016 election, the racism and hatred this Muslim physician has experienced in small-town America, and the potential path to interfaith healing.

In the wake of a massacre inside the walls of the First Baptist Church of Southerland Springs, Texas, Parishioners across the country are contemplating the security of sanctuaries. We’re joined by Pastor Emily Munger of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Pierre and Pastor Jesse Hailey of Elk Point Baptist Church.

Marcella van de Bovenkamp is a Christian woman living in Israel, and devoted to building a relationship between Jews and Christians. She’s in Sioux Falls to speak with various congregations about her faith journey, the dangers of anti-Semitism, and her work in Israel.

Faith in Public Life is an interdenominational gathering. The group brings author William Paul Young to the state on October 2nd. Joining us for a conversation about the role of faith in the public square, Father Chuck Cimpl and The Reverend Christina Swenson O'Hara.

Attorney General Marty Jackley announced last week that his office is joining several other attorneys general in asking the U-S Supreme Court to hear a case on the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits the government from establishing an official religion. The case, which has made it all the way to the country's highest court, originated in Bloomfield, New Mexico, where a monument of the Ten Commandments is placed on city property. SDPB's Lee Strubinger talked with Attorney General Jackley.

We continue with Hour Two of “The Shift.” SDPB’s Lee Strubinger looks at legislative solutions to changing demographics in South Dakota, focusing on Build South Dakota program as it celebrates its first graduates.

Denice Turner teaches at Black Hills State University. Her book "Worthy" was chosen as a Dakota Midday Book Club selection.

"Worthy" is a memoir. In it the author searches for truth after her mother's mysterious death in a fire. Denice Turner joins Dakota Midday to talk about a writer's challenge to craft herself into a character, the struggle to find an authentic sense of self worth, and the joys (and occasional despair) of parenting.

Dr. Ahrar Ahmad, professor emeritus at Black Hills State University, talks about "Islam's Troubled Image" prior to his lecture at BHSU Rapid City. The conversation includes the origins of several misperceptions regarding Islam, the "awkward relationship" between Islamic countries and Western nations, optimism for the future, and steps the faithful can take to reclaim the soul of Islam in their lives and in the world.

Andreas Widmer travels the world working with entrepreneurs, investors, and faith leaders. He talks about virtuous business practices and enterprise solutions to poverty. He’s the president of The Carpenter’s Fund, an organization that provides loans for building infrastructure in developing countries. He’s also author of the book “The Pope & The CEO: Pope John Paul the Second’s Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard.”

Some inmates at the state prison are working to uphold a standard of integrity despite living decades behind bars. The South Dakota State Penitentiary houses people who have committed heinous crimes. It’s also a place where inmates of many faiths can choose to worship.

A Lutheran congregation called St. Dysmas has more than 100 churchgoers in the 700-person prison. They elect council members, and those inmate leaders talk about forming community when their own actions keep them from being part of regular society.

Theologian Anna Madsen, founder of OMG Center for Theological Conversation, explores the Christian season of Advent. Madsen shares the difficult message of repentance and how Christians can honor the weeks leading up to Christmas by pondering the mysteries of the season.

A stage in the "pilgrimage of trust on the earth" will be held in Red Shirt, a tiny village at the edge of the Badlands on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation from May 24-27. The outdoor gathering will include meditative prayer three times a day, Bible study, workshops, small group sharing and meals together, provided by the local Lakota people. Rev.

Kathe Schaaf, co-founder of the international Gather the Women movement and Women of Spirit and Faith, leads a new organization that explores, nurtures and celebrates women's spiritual leadership. Earlier this month Schaaf spoke to a Gather the Women event in Rapid City where she said that the world is undergoing a major shift and that women are a part of that change. Schaaf is an editor of the anthology "Women, Spirituality and Transformative Leadership: Where Grace Meets Power."

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